At Least My Breath Is Fresh
by Zepheira
Summary: A girl is transferred into Wammy's, Kira is on the loose, and as the search for the keys to unlocking the information of the new girl's past past is started, he slips closer to his idea of a new era. Will Azami have a key to unlocking the mystery of Kira?
1. Meeting Scorche

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya. I do however, own Azami, Daniel, and the plot!**

**Zepheira: Well, here's my first attempt at a fanfic, hope it's not to horrible!**

**Azami: If you have any advice or suggestions please review! And if you have any mints...  
**

**Zepheira: ...Azami would be happy to bite your arm off for them! ^^**

**Azami: Please enjoy the story!**

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'I'm bored' I thought to myself and almost as if on cue we arrived at our destination: Wammy's house for orphans. "Come on Azami, we're here" the driver said getting out of the vehicle. I stepped out of the old van, examining my surroundings: most of the trees were deciduous, the fence was old, iron, and sturdy, the building itself was large with many stories, the windows had multiple curious faces peeking out of them, and all in all it seemed like a place that I could learn to like.

"Azami what are you doing? You're going to make us late for the interview, don't press your luck" I smirked 'You're just helping me because you don't want me around, like most of the people I've met.' I shuddered at the thought of my previous home (which I had managed to escape from 6 times, though I was always dragged back) and followed Daniel towards my one and only chance at a new life. Apparently Wammy's wanted me around since they were the ones who suggested my transfer.

"Hurry up kid!" Daniel snarled. I grunted and trudged more quickly. We passed the gate and stepped through the main doors where we were greeted by an overly happy secretary. Hello! Welcome to Wammy's! And what can we do for you today?" 'Well you could shut your face and be less annoying if you don't mind.'

Daniel smiled at her kindly (probably for the first time in his life) "I believe this little brat here has an appointment?" She turned her blinding smile to me "Oh? And what's your name?" 'I'm not five years old bitch, and why should you get the privilege of hearing my voice? You have to earn that. Even Daniel is better than you, at least he speaks his mind.'

She waited for a reply. "Sorry, but this brat hasn't said anything for five months, I doubt she's gunna break the record now." 'You got that right idiot.' I watched in amusement as her eyes grew large in surprise. "O-oh, um, what's her name?" 'Most people who know the original are dead actually.' "Well, no one's really sure, but we decided to call her Azami*."

The secretary looked quickly through some files and pulled one out. She looked through it and then looked at me nervously, she had probably just learned about my previous home. "May I see some ID?" Daniel held out our passports.

She grinned happily. 'Uggh how is it even possible to be that happy?' "Alright, come this way please." She led us down a long hallway with many doors, we stopped at the 18th one. She knocked on it "Rodger, Azami and... her escort have arrived for an appointment." "Oh, that's right, I'm Daniel." Her smile widened. "Azami and Daniel have arrived."

'Oh my god, I hope the rest of the people here aren't as irritating.' "Yes, come in!" A voice called from inside the room. 'That must be Rodger.' The secretary opened the door and gestured for us to enter. "If you need anything, just call!" 'Um, yes I will need some help, in fact, I've lost something. It's small, pink, squishy, and it's not very relevant, it's just a little something called YOUR BRAIN.'

Me and Daniel stepped into the room and I moved my attention to Rodger, who sat in an office chair on wheels behind a large wooden desk. 'At least he doesn't LOOK dumb.' "Please, take a seat." We sat in the two chairs in front of the desk. "So this is Azami?"

He scanned my black hair that had blue and red streaks, my thin build, my slightly under average height, my blue hoodie with rainbow sleeves, my black and white striped dress and my black and my red combat boots with black straps. He looked surprised by my appearance, but that's not rare, since I don't look how people might think when they hear about me.

"Yup, and I'm Daniel, and you're Rodger, right?" "Yes. Now, I'm required to ask a few questions, shall we get right to it?" I nodded before Daniel could say anything. Rodger's attention focused on me. "Ok Azami, first of all, do you even want to come Wammy's?" I started nodding even before he finished the question, causing Daniel to smirk to hide his relief.

"Alright, how come?" 'Because Daniel has been abusing me (haha just kidding)' I pulled out the piece of paper and pencil who lived in my pocket and wrote down my answer. «To start a new life. » Rodger opened his mouth to reply when someone knocked on the door. "Come in!"

The door opened ands in stepped a girl around the age of 15, my age. Her hair was black tipped with red, she wore a red hoodie, black pants, dark brown shoes, and she was a bit on the tall side. We stared at each other until Rodger broke the silence. "I'm kind of busy right now Scorche, what do you want?"

The girl who was presumably called Scorche ignored him and asked a question of her own. "Who are they?" I started randomly doodling on my piece of paper. "This is Daniel, and this is Azami, now Scorche, what can I do for you?" "Why are they here?" Rodger sighed in frustration.

"That's none of your business Scorche." Scorche turned to me. "Are you an orphan?" I nodded. 'This Scorche person is interesting.' "Are you moving here?" I ignored her. I didn't know anyways. "Well, are you going to answer?" She was clearly getting angry. 'Short tempered.'

"Scorche, you're being rude." Rodger warned. "Me! She's the one being rude!" "Scorche, calm down." She took a breath. 'I like this Scorche's way of acting.' "Ok Scorche, now why are you here?" She looked at me curiously. "You know Rodg, it wasn't that important, I'll talk to you later." With one last glance at me she stepped out of the room, closing the door.

Daniel spoke first. "You know, I don't understand why you would want Azami here, she doesn't do much." Rodger smiled. "She's actually incredibly clever, she got 98 °/° on her entrance exam." 'Damn straight.'

Daniel looked at me doubtingly. "Well, she's definitely one hell of an escape artist." 'Yup, I managed to escape my old super-high-security home 6 times. ...Wait, I could hear someone standing outside the door.' I stood up. "Azami, what are you doing?"

I held my finger to my lips to silence them and stepped quietly to the door. I reached out to the doorknob slowly and grabbed it. Suddenly I yanked the door open causing the eavesdropper, a boy around 15 with red hair, a striped shirt, navy blue pants, boots, and a tan vest trimmed with white fur, to stumble forward, almost crashing into me. I smirked. He stared at me curiously.

"Matt! What were you doing?" "Uuuh…" He looked at me for support. I rolled my eyes, scribbled something down and held it out to Rodger. «Somebody pushed him into the door then ran away. » Rodger turned to look at Matt. "Are you alright?" He looked at me with wide eyes.

"Um, yah, I'm fine." "Alright, who pushed you?" 'Haha it appears Rodger is somewhat gullible. And this Matt guy is amusing.' "Oh, uh, it was... Mello." Rodger sighed. "If you see him tell him that I want to talk to him."

'Haha I wonder if things like this happen often here.' "Uh, ok, well, see you later." He looked at me thankfully and left. I sat back down. "Finally. Now, Azlyn, do you have any allergies?" I shook my head. "Do you have a favorite food?" «I love mints. » "Ok, what are some activities that you like?" «Drawing, hiding, tracking, hand to hand combat, planning, puzzles, reading, exploring, playing video games, etc. »

"Alright, I have a few more questions, but feel free to fill them out later." He handed me a sheet of assorted questions. "So, we'll give you both rooms for tonight so that you don't have to drive all the way to find a hotel and back, alright?" Daniel grinned. He nodded in agreement. Daniel would jump at any chance to save a few bucks. "Ok please go speak to the secretary, she'll guide you to your rooms." 'Shit, not her again, ugh.' We stood and Daniel thanked Rodger as we left the room.

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***Azami: is a japanese name meaning: the flower of the thistle. Which symbolises defiance**

**I have more to put up soon, as soon as I check it over, so hopefully see you in the next chapter!**


	2. New Roommate

**Yo, sorry for the wait, I just went on a trip with my friend and didn't have time to update sooner. :P**

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya. I do however, own Azami, Daniel, and the plot! (and Frella too I suppose, but I don't really care about her haha)**

**Zepheira: Sorry if any of the characters seem OOC :P**

**Azami:Yay! I get my mints in this chapter!**

**Zepheira: Would you stop rambling on about your mint obsession, it's time for the story!**

**Azami: Please enjoy!  
**

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We stood and Daniel thanked Rodger as we left the room. We walked to the front desk to meet the secretary. "Oh? Do you need anything?" "Rodger said you would show us our rooms."

"Alright, please follow me." She led us down a different hallway and stopped at door #29. "Here Daniel, this will be your room." She handed him a key and left him to get comfortable.

She took me to room #35 and knocked on the door. 'Why the hell did she have to do that, I mean, it's my room right?' The door was opened by an annoyed looking Scorche.

"What the hell do you want Frella?" 'So that was the secretary's name. And why were we at Scorche's room?' Scorche turned to look at me. "Why are you here?" Frella giggled. "Since all of our other rooms are full Azami will be staying with you for tonight."

My mouth fell open. 'WHAT!' "WHAT! No freaking way!" Scorche apparently liked company just as much as I did. "But Scorche, all the other rooms are full, she has no where else to go!" Frella put on her (sickening) puppy dog eyes. 'And there was no freaking way I was staying with Daniel!' *shudder*

Scorche glared at me. "Fine." Frella pushed me inside. "Good, well have fun!" She closed the door and I listened to her walk away. I watched Scorche stare back at me. "You're Azami?" Nod.

"You're quiet. That's good." Silence. I examined the room: There were two simple beds, a dresser, a chair by a desk with some initials carved into it, on top sat some speakers with an iPod plugged in, a cell phone, a pack of matches, a lighter, some pencils, a notebook, and a laptop covered with stickers.

The walls were white with assorted posters plastered on them, the floor was wooden, the room in general was on the messy side. Scorche sighed and sat down on the chair. I kept standing by the door.

She switched on the music. Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce blasted throughout the room. She started drawing in the notebook. 'I'm tired.' I layed on the bed that was actually made.

I wrote on a piece of paper «Turn it down. I haven't slept for two days» I folded it into an airplane and threw it at Scorche. The music quieted and I sank into sleep.

I woke to brown eyes staring down at me. 'HOLY SHIT! WHAT! Oh, Scorche. But what the hell is she doing?' She read my expression. "Rodger wants to speak with you."

She walked over and sat on her bed, watching as I quickly filled out the questionnaire. With the 30 questions filled out I headed off towards Rodger's office leaving Scorche behind.

I knocked on door #18. "Come in!" Rodger called from inside. I pushed it open and found myself staring back at a guy with curly snow white hair wearing white pajamas.

He stood up. "Thank you, I'll be going now." I moved out of his way and he left the room. "Hello Azami, was your stay alright?" I nodded and handed him the questionnaire. He scanned over it quickly.

"You are quite an interesting person Azami, I hope that all of us at Wammy's will get to know you better." 'I am liking this place. I wonder...If I get let in... If I'll ever get a chance to meet L...'

«May I go now? » "Yes, please feel free to look around the building, but please keep clear of the top floor, it's off limits." I turned and walked out of the room, where I was greeted by Scorche.

"Hello, I was wondering if you would like a tour?" I smiled and nodded. She smirked. "Ok, let's see if you can keep up." She ran off down the hallway. I sighed and started following at a walking pace.

'This is probably some sort of test.' I followed the sounds of her footsteps as she turned corners, leading me deeper into the maze of halls. 'I'm getting kind of hungry...'

My thought was interrupted as I turned a corner too quickly and collided with yet another guy around my age. I stumbled backwards in surprise.

"Whoa! Watch where the hell you're going!" I tried to step around him but he blocked my path. "I don't recognize you, what's your name?" I took out my paper.

«I'm Azami» "So what, you can't speak?" «I CAN, I just choose not to» "Why?" «Why are you talking to me? » Just then Scorche came up from behind the boy.

"'Ello Mello! I was wondering what was taking you so long Azami." Mello glared at her. "Why is she here?" "Well, since she's an orphan I'm guessing that they're thinking about letting her into Wammy's."

The boy supposedly called Mello turned his glare to me. "More competition huh? Well, see you around, I've got better things to do." He was practically shouting.

'Well that kid needs to learn how to be quiet.' «He's way too loud» "Haha I agree." "Shut up!" Mello yelled. I rolled my eyes and gestured to Scorche that we should continue.

"Hey, um, Mello, do you wanna come with us?" She sounded uncertain. 'Well this is interesting.' Mello scowled at her.

"Why the hell should I?" "Well, I'm taking Azami on a tour and you look bored." Mello rolled his eyes. "Like I said previously, I have much better things to do." And with that he strutted away down the hall.

Scorche sighed and we continued the tour. We stopped at the occasional door, her explaining to me that it was a cafeteria, play room, music room, library, meeting/announcement room, etc. On our way back to Scorche's room we ran into Rodger.

"Oh Azami, good timing! Your files have been examined and it has been decided that you will be allowed to stay here!" He didn't really sound too happy, but why the hell should I care about his wellbeing? I grinned in delight.

'Now I will never have to go back to that retched hell hole!' "Your luggage has all been moved into Scorche's room, you will be staying there from now on." "WHAT! I don't want a room mate!" Rodger rolled his eyes.

"Scorche you're just going to have to learn to deal with it." He turned away, declaring that this was his final answer. Scorche sighed. "Well, I suppose you're not the worst room mate." My stomach growled loudly causing Scorche to smile.

"Come on, we'll go get something to eat, I'm starving too." We headed to the cafeteria had dinner, then went back to our room. My bag sat on my bed. I hurried over to it and pulled open the zipper.

Inside I found: a hairbrush, some clothes, some pajamas, some underwear, a sketchbook, a few pencils, a DS, a PSP, some assorted video games, bathroom supplies, a couple manga, and most importantly 10 large packages of mints. I tore open a pack and popped one into my mouth.

I put my clothes into the dresser and moved my manga onto the desk. Scorche looked over them in curiosity. "You like manga? Me too. What ones do you like?" We continued discussing various manga and anime until dinnertime.

We made our way down to the cafeteria again. It was more crowded than before. After we got our food Scorche and I sat down at an empty table. We ate and were just about to leave when Rodger walked to the front of the room.

"When you have finished eating please come to the announcement room." Curiosity flew around the cafeteria. Me and Scorche followed Rodger to the announcement room. He turned to me. "Azami, please come to the front." 'Blah I hate introductions.'

Rodger waited for the room to fill before he started talking. "If you haven't already noticed, there is a newcomer to Wammy's, Her name is Azami, please treat her with kindness and respect." I raised my hand and waved slightly.

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**I will probably be able to get chapter 3 up soon! ****Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated, please review! ^^**


	3. L'S HERE!

**Hey, I updated sooner this time! Hope you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya. I do however, own Azami, Daniel, and the plot!**

**Azami: They've all seen this before, get on with the story!**

**Zepheira: Yah, yah, I'm just writing it so I don't get sued or anything, so shut up.**

**Azami: Whatever, just start the story!  
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"Does anyone have any questions for her?" I pulled out my paper and pencil. "Do you have a last name?" I shook my head. "Where are you from?" «Penzance*» I folded it up and tossed the paper airplane at the asker.

'Yah right, like I'd actually tell someone where I'm from. Anyways, I'm still not sure myself.' "Can you speak?" Nod. No one else spoke so Rodger continued.

"We will be able to look forward to a special event tomorrow. Now have a nice evening, everyone is dismissed."

'Oooh a special event? This place is awesome!' I started walking but bumped into Mello (again). "DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING?"

'Great now everyone's staring.' I yawned and shoved past him. Surprised whispers followed after me as I left the room. 'Apparently not very many people stand up to the Mello person.'

Scorche joined up with me. "Just so you know Mello's gunna wanna get you back for that." «I figured he was that kind of person. »

"Ok, well it's your funeral." 'It's getting late, I suppose I'll get some sleep, I'm really looking forward to finding out what the special event tomorrow is!' «I'm tired, goodnight Scorche» "'Night Azami."

I woke to find Scorche staring at me again. I yawned and stretched. "Today I'm going to tell you the names of some of the people here and the dos and don'ts of Wammy's ok?" I nodded sleepily.

We got dressed, had breakfast and headed out. First we stopped at the play room, inside I noticed the white haired guy from before. Scorche noticed me looking.

"That's Near, he's tied for rank #1 right now, he loves toys and puzzles. It's hilarious if you mess up something he's working on, he loves challenges so if you play a game with him and win you can automatically gain his respect since no one has ever won against him before."

Mello strutted up to him and kicked over his block tower. Scorche laughed. "Of course, that's Mello. He's the one tied with Near for #1, he's a chocolate addict."

I noticed that when Mello walked away he was followed by Matt. "Matt is currently #3. He's addicted to gaming." 'Ooh I wonder if he has any good games. I might have to ask him later.'

Scorche named the rest of the people in the room, though their ranks seemed insignificant compared to Near, Mello and Matt.

"Shall we move onto the music room?" I nodded enthusiastically. We started walking upstairs, where we came face to face to Mello. "Hey Mells, whatcha doing?"

"I told you not to call me that you retard!" She laughed. "Whatever." I grinned. 'These two are hilarious.' Mello sneered at me.

"Why did you lie at the meeting?" I gave him a curious look. "You never lived in Penzance. So, what's the story?" Scorche raised her eyebrow.

«I just don't want people like you to stalk me» He glared at me. "I'm not stalking you, why the hell would I?" I shrugged. «You knew that I lied»

I looked out the window to check the weather 'wow, I am quite easily distracted sometimes.' I suddenly noticed a black vehicle in the parking lot that hadn't been parked there the day Daniel brought me here.

'W-wait...I-is that? I've only seen it once before but I'd recognize it anywhere. After all, the owner had given me hope and a dream. That is definitely his car, I gotta go tell Rodger!'

I ran down the stairs and Mello yelled down after me. "HEY, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING!" I ignored him and sprinted over to Rodger's office.

I swung the door open and spoke for the first time in five and a half months, yelled in fact. "RODGER, L'S HERE!" I froze suddenly as I noticed none other than L himself looking at me in amusement.

"Well hi to you too, and who would you be?" I reddened. Rodger was completely shocked. "Uh, I eh-I..."

I backed out slowly then slammed the door shut. 'HOLY SHIT IT'S L!' I ran back to my room and tried to calm myself with deep breaths.

This was not the first time I'd met L, I remember this day more clearly than the rest: It was the first day of the first time I escaped. I wasn't sure what to do, I had no food, water (well, except for the rain and the filthy untrustable fountains in the park), shelter, transportation (except for hitchhiking, but I didn't trust people enough for that yet), new clothes, company (though I didn't mind that), and most devastating NO MINTS.

I sat next to a park bench (not on because I found ground comforting after not touching it for so long) in a small town that I couldn't remember the name of.

I had rode the bus to it's last stop. I cried back up at the weeping night sky until my face was drenched and it was well past midnight. 'I'm broken.' I was thoroughly excepting it for the first time.

More tears gushed out and I barely noticed someone approaching until a hand was placed on my shoulder. I did my best to glare up at the owner who had a concerned look.

"What's your name?" I shook my head. "Alright then, you don't have to tell me. You should probably get home though, your parents will be worried." I shook my head again, they're long dead.

"Ok, would you mind if I sat here for a while?" 'Who is this guy? What if he's a rapist or a robber something? Eh, who cares I have a knife in my pocket.

I gestured for him to stay and he sat beside me. "I like it here, there's not usually any people here so it's a good place to think... Can you just assure me that you're not out here due to something illegal?" I nodded.

'It's not really illegal to run away from a hell hole.' "Ok good. Do you by any chance like mint flavored lollipops?" 'MINT!' I nodded frantically.

"Well, here, have this." He handed me a white lollipop with a printed 'L' on it. 'Wait...could this mean...that this is the famous detective L!'

I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it. "I hope you cheer up." He stood and I watched his white tshirt fade into the night as he walked away from me.

"Wait..." That was the first word I'd said in 4 months. I stood up and followed behind him. I made sure to stay out of sight as he walked through the park. He walked up to a shiny black car and drove away.

I swore to myself that day that I would do my best to follow in his footsteps and hopefully be able to see him again. From that day on I started actually putting effort into my studies.

Scorche's voice brought me back to my present thoughts. "Azami? What the hell was that? Is this normal for you or what?"

«L's here» my writing was just as shaky as my hands. "What! Really? I suppose that's what Rodger meant by 'special event'. Wait a second, how do you know he's here?"

I shrugged. «I recognized his car» She smirked. "And how do you what his car looks like?" 'You think I'm a stalker don't you!'

«He helped me out a few years ago when I was becoming depressed. » Scorche raised an eyebrow tauntingly. "Aaaw that's sweet." I gritted my teeth and Scorche laughed.

"Haha I'm just kidding." 'Wow, different people's reactions in different situations are interesting. And annoying.'

"Well I'm hungry, let's go have lunch." I nodded. 'I'm starving!' We walked down to the cafeteria (yet again).

'This soup tastes kinda funny...' The edges of my vision started to blur as I noticed L walk quickly into the room and towards me. 'No, not now...'

I stood up and the attention of the room turned to me as I staggered drunkenly into a wall. I collapsed into a pile on the floor losing hold of my thoughts. I smiled as I fell into unconsciousness, I had never felt so peaceful before.

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***Penzance: a city in western England.**

**I might be a bit longer to update next time, but we'll see... Any questions, comments, or suggestions are greatly appreciated! ^^  
**


	4. Anything for Tictacs

**DISCLAIMER:****DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, frappuccinos, Tictacs, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya. I do however, own Azami, and the plot!**

**Zepheira: Hey there everyone, sorry this took a bit longer than usual, I was a bit busy.**

**Azami: That, and you're lazy.**

**Zepheira: Shut up. Oh, and sorry if any of the characters seem OOC, I haven't watched/read Death Note in a while.**

**Azami: And not to mention that cliffhanger you left them with last time.**

**Zepheira: Well, suspense is good once in a while.**

**Azami: Whatever. On with the show! I mean...story...  
**

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My head came back to me I groaned in pain. A few surprised whispers swirled around but one voice spoke directly to me. "Azami? Are you awake?" It sounded troubled.

I tried opening my eyes, but gave up quickly, deciding it was much too bright. I tried speaking instead. "OW, MY HEAD IS THROBBING, DAMN IT!"

My sudden exclamation caused everyone in the room to jump. I sat up, and then waited for the world to stop spinning. I groaned in pain a second time as I stretched.

"Uggh, I should have worked on this one more." "What? And you really shouldn't be sitting up." "She shouldn't be CONSCIOUS, let alone sitting." Someone else added.

I tried again to open my eyes and succeeded, finding the first voice to be L's, the second to be Scorche's, and the third a doctor's. L spoke again.

"Yes, would you like to tell us how you're awake? That drug could have easily put any normal person into a coma." I smirked triumphantly.

"I was bored at my old home so I decided to make myself immune to most toxins." The doctor eyed me curiously.

"And how did you go about doing this?" I shrugged. "There's more than one reason I barely spoke. One was the lack of interesting people, and another was that I rarely felt well enough to bother opening my mouth."

All three of them seemed surprised, especially L. "Would you like to explain how you got toxins into a high security mental hospital?"

The doctor's eyes widened and Scorche's jaw dropped. "You were in a mental hospital! Why?"

I laughed. "I was picked up on the side of a highway and it took a bit of time for me to get used to the possibility of people being friendly."

Scorche looked at me with more interest. "Ok, so what about the poisons?" I yawned. "Oh, and I bet that you also expect that I'm going to explain to you how I escaped from a place like that 6 times? Well the answers to both happen to be the same: I love challenges."

'Wow, I'm speaking a lot today, guess that extra-strength food poisoning really got to me. Plus, L's here, so, there's someone definitely worth talking to. Scorche is growing on me too. Maybe we could become...friends? I'm not sure that's a realistic thing to hope for... But there might be a possibility...'

I glanced at Scorche curiously, causing her to shift uncomfortably. "What?" I shrugged and looked away.

'I could really use a mint right now...' As if reading my mind L pulled out a pack of Tictacs and shook them tauntingly. "I heard you like these?"

My mouth watered with desire, and I nodded quickly. He smiled. "You can have them if you answer some questions. Ok?" I nodded cautiously.

'What's with people and questions lately? Is there some survey I don't know about? Haha' "First: what are your skills?" Hmm... I pulled out my paper.

«Disguising, acting, hand-to-hand combat, picking locks, gaming, escaping, forgery, sword fighting, spying, deductive reasoning, etc. »

"Alright... Secondly: what do you believe in?" «Dunno, haven't really thought about it. »

"Ok, last question: do you know who poisoned you, or why?" I crossed my arms in thought.

'Hmm, there are a few possibilities: #1 It could be that weird Near kid, he didn't seem very friendly, #2 it could be Mello, he seems like a person to overreact over stupid things, #3 there's a small possibility of it being Scorche trying to get her room back to herself, #4 It could be some random at the orphanage that I haven't even met yet... Normally Daniel would be on this list, but he left a couple days ago, so #5 (and the most probable) would be Rain, though I wonder how he would manage to sneak into the kitchen and drug food that he would know for sure that I would eat... Well, anyways, if it was him, then he probably had a good reason.'

«I think it was Rain. He probably did it to get back at me for something. » "Who's Rain?" I sighed. «He's my older brother, we haven't spoken to each other in a long time. »

Surprised stares filled the room. Scorche was the first to speak. "You have a brother?" Nod.

"Well, where is he living?" «Dunno, not my problem. Like I said, we stopped speaking to each other a long time ago. » L looked thoughtful.

"Would he know of your resistance to poisons?" «Yes. » "How?" «There was one time at my old home when he came to visit me for some reason, it was one of my worse days and he automatically noticed something wrong. He wouldn't stop bugging me about it so I explained everything to him. I also told him the drugs and doses I planned on using. »

"Well, then he obviously wasn't trying to kill you." Nod-nod. «We may not be speaking, but that's because we are on separate paths, not because we hate each other. » L nodded thoughtfully.

"But we can't rule out the possibility of other people, is there anyone else who might have had something to do with this?" «Well, I don't have many friends here, but I haven't made any mortal enemies yet either. »

I stared pointedly at the tictacs. L smirked and tossed them to me, pulling out a pack of cookies for himself. I dumped five of the pill-shaped mints into my mouth.

'Mmm, finally, my breath can be fresh again.' Scorche laughed at my joyful expression. "You remind me of Mello and chocolate."

I raised my eyebrow, not sure if I should be offended by being compared to the loudmouth. She laughed again at my response. "You just seem to like mints as much as he likes chocolate." She explained.

'Oh, ok, I guess that's an acceptable comment. Haha if he likes chocolate so much I wonder why he's not chubbier.' That, of course, caused me to imagine a balloon version of Mello rolling around on the ground.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Everyone jumped at my sudden explosive laughter. When I looked up everyone was staring at me curiously. I cleared my throat and dropped another Tictac into my mouth.

«So, doc, when's this headache gunna wear off? » He leaned in closer to examine my face and temples. "I don't know, I haven't dealt with anything like this before."

I groaned inwardly. 'Oh, screw this, I need coffee.' "So, um, Azami, is there anything you want?" 'THANK YOU SCORCHE, FOR READING MY MIND.'

«If you could get me an iced peppermint frappuccino, that would be nice. » Scorche raised her eyebrow and L smirked. "Rodger's in town right now, so I'll call him and tell him to pick one up for you ok?" Vigorous nod.

'Heh heh coffeeeee.' "Hey Scorche, would you like anything?" "A pack of gum please?" Then I noticed something about Scorche that I was surprised that I hadn't before: every time that I had seen her she had been chewing gum.

'Interesting. Not very relevant, but interesting.' I heard the door open and turned slowly to see who had entered. "How is sh-WHAT, SHE'S AWAKE!"

Matt was now in the room followed by Mello, who had a look on his face which implied the phrase: 'Why the hell am I here?'

Matt stepped quickly over to my side. He looked at me, confused but seemingly happy for my recovery, then he turned to doc. "So I guess this means she'll be ok, right?" Doc nodded. Mello seemed slightly intrigued by Matt's interest, and he smiled deviously, walking up beside him.

"You 'like' her, don't you?" 'W-WHAT?' Matt's face turned a pinkish-red. "What the hell, no way!" He denied.

'...Good, that would be a complication that I wouldn't want to deal with.' Mello smirked at me. "Suuure." (Sarcasm attack!)

I rolled my eyes. «I'm tired, I think I'll just sleep it off. You guys get out of here. » L nodded and Scorche waved as everyone stepped out the door. I fell asleep instantly as my head hit the pillow.

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**Oh, and btw this whole chapter takes place in Azami and Scorche's room.**

**I'm probably going to be busy this week too, so sorry in advance if I don't get the next chapter up soon :(**


	5. Vacation time!

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya (I have her permission to use Scorche!). I do however, own Azami, Rain, and the plot!**

**Zepheira: btw I do not support forgery!**

**Azami: But you should.**

**Zepheira: No you shouldn't!**

**Azami: Suit yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a trip to go on!**

**Zepheira: Please enjoy!  
**

* * *

I woke suddenly, I wasn't dizzy anymore, but I had a feeling that something bad was happening. Scorche, or anyone else for that matter, weren't anywhere in the room.

I dressed quickly and stepped outside and into the hall. I walked quickly to Rodgers room and knocked, while rocking from foot to foot nervously. "Come in!" The voice inside sounded annoyed.

I pushed the door open. I had my paper out in less than a second. «Where's L? I need to talk to him» Rodger looked at me impatiently. "He left to go to the airport an hour ago."

'WHAT! NO! ...Well I guess that's where that feeling came from. But... I've been looking forward to seeing L for SO long! And I didn't even get to tell him... That he practically saved my life. (mentally/emotionally) He stopped me from just giving up… Well, I suppose if he's not here, I'll just have to go find him.'

«Where is he, and why did he go? » Rodger sighed. "All I know is that the police called him into a case somewhere in Japan, now please Azami, I'm really busy right now." His hand gestured towards the door.

'Yah sure Rodger, I'll leave, see you in a few weeks or something. Now, to forge a passport and a plane ticket.' I left the room and walked quickly but cautiously back to my room.

-Some paper cuts later-

'Finally finished! Now, to get out of here...' Scorche stepped in the door as I stood up. Thankfully I had just finished disposing of any evidence of my plans. She eyed me curiously.

"Whatcha doing?" 'Uuuh...' I shrugged my shoulders, indicating that I wasn't doing anything specific at the moment. She looked me over once more and sat down to type something on her laptop.

I managed to sneak out of the room without Scorche noticing, but ran into someone in the hall. "Ouch, hey, watch it nutcase!" 'WHO THE HELL DOES SHE THINK SHE'S CALLING A NUTCASE!'

I grimaced. 'I don't have time for this!' I leapt around the punk-looking girl and speed walked towards the main exit. Once outside I spun my head around searching for any witnesses. None, time to go on vacation.

I quickly taped a leaf to the lens of the surveillance camera. "Oops." I muttered to myself sarcastically as I completed the action. 'Now, to get past the fence.' The gate was closed today since we weren't expecting any visitors.

I climbed up to the top of the barrier then dropped down on the other side. As soon as my feet touched the ground I ran towards the road, but stayed far enough away so that I was hidden from sight by the foliage.

I followed the road until I came to an intersection. I crossed the street so that I now stood on the side of the road that headed into town and held up my thumb while trying out the 'cute and innocent' face I had been working on.

Surprisingly enough it worked, about a minute later a car pulled over and rolled down their window. Inside sat a middle-aged man and woman, in the back a small girl around 7 years old peered at me with curious eyes. The man cleared his throat to gain my attention.

"Where are you going?" He asked politely. 'I guess I'll talk to them, just to skip the explanations.' "Just to the airport." I jerked my hand in the general direction. The lady eyed me skeptically.

"You're not running away from home, are you?" 'Well, not really, I'm planning on coming back... probably.' I shook my head. The little girl pitched in. "How old are you?" She grinned at me awaiting my answer.

I pulled out my 'passport' and flashed it at them. "According to the United Kingdom I'm 19." A suspicious frown covered the man's face. "And according to you?" I blinked. "Well, who am I to argue with the United Kingdom?"

The woman smiled kindly. "Ok, we'll take you to the airport." I smiled back at her. 'Ugh.' I pulled the back door open and slid in next to the girl, slamming the door shut behind me. The girl's face was lit up.

"I'm Cassie, what's your name?" I forced my smile to come back. "I'm Azami." I blanked out as she started ranting on about herself. The seven minute car ride ended quickly as we arrived at the airport.

"Thank you." I jumped quickly out of the car even before it had stopped moving. The family stared after the strange girl for a few seconds, and then continued on their way.

'Ugh, I HATE having to talk to dull people.' I checked the flight board and looked for any flights heading to Japan. Thankfully, there were only two. The first flight was at leaving at 11:15 am from gate 8A and the second at 2:20 pm from gate 6B.

I checked the clock on the corner of the screen, indicating our current time to be 11:01. 'Damn, I'd better hurry if I'm going to be able to see if L gets on that first flight. So, first thing's first, I gotta find gate 8A...'

I gazed up at the signs hanging from the ceiling, I started scuttling in the direction it said gate 8A was situated. Somehow, I made it past security with no problem and when I got to the gate I saw people lining up to board the plane.

'...OMG THERE'S L!' I quickly sat down in a random chair with my back facing the line. Then I remembered that I had to fill in my plane ticket before I would be able to use it. I glanced up at a flight board and, with my skilled penmanship, filled in the rest of the ticket.

I looked over my work, checking to make sure that it looked printed. 'Well, good enough, they'll buy it.' I stood up and turned around just in time to see L step onto the plane. 'Yes! Now's my chance!'

I walked quickly to the back of the line and waited impatiently until it was my turn. The lady smiled at me. "Ticket and passport please." I handed them to her. I was so nervous that I could feel my sweat gathering at the back of my neck.

She scanned my ticket and the machine made an excepting "beep" noise. I let out a small sigh of relief and took back my 'passport'. "Please enjoy your flight." I nodded then stepped onto the plane after everyone else.

I sat down in seat 10A since it was the only aisle seat not already taken. I snuck a glance at the person I would apparently be sitting next to for the next 12 hours. It was a dark haired man who looked like he was in his twenties. And he was grinning at me.

"Hi there, I'm Touta Matsuda, nice to meet you!" He shook my hand. "Uuh, I'm Azami..." 'Consider yourself lucky that will probably be the only time I speak to you.' He started rambling on about his likes and dislikes, which eventually lead to some backstories.

"I was just in England visiting my sister. So, why are you heading to Japan?" 'Oh, just to meet with L, the best detective in the world.' I shrugged so he continued yapping on randomly.

His mouth seemed to be able to move endlessly, I heard the occasional word like "puppies" and "unicycle" but other than that I wasn't really paying attention. 'I bet if his mouth stops moving his brain starts working.'

I fell asleep 8 hours into the flight, just for something to do, and thankfully Matsuda had stopped blabbering by then.

-Naptime!-

I woke 3 hours later to a strange noise filling my ear. I opened my eyes and turned my head slowly to my right. I grimaced as I found a snoring Matsuda head on my shoulder.

'EW, get it off!' I slowly pushed it away from me with one finger. With that problem out of the way I checked the flight on the screen on the back of the seat in front of me. Only one more hour left. 'Thank god! Only one more hour until I can finally get off this flying hunk of metal!'

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**Sorry this took a little longer, but I hope it was worth it! I love any questions, comments, or suggestions! (especially reviews ;) )  
**

**PLEASE READ AND DECIDE: If you think I should do an interview with Azami and the other characters after the next chapter please send me a message or add something like this into your review: "mission interview is a go!" Or if you're against the idea: "Interview mission failure!" If I get 8 or more messages/reviews saying 'yes' then I'll add the bonus interview after I post the next chapter! :D  
**


	6. The Search begins!

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya, Kurai is property of evilanimeninja, and Mizu is property of an anonymous friend of mine (I have their permission to use these characters!). However, Azami, and the plot belong to me!**

**Zepheira: Yay! I updated quickly this time!**

**Azami: For once.**

**Zepheira: Since I only recieved 2 votes I will not be doing the bonus interview. :P**

**Azami: Thank god, that sounds like it involves me being tortured.**

**Zepheira: If you want me to do the interview, but didn't get a chance to vote last time send me a message.**

**Azami: X.x Well enjoy the chapter!  
**

* * *

The next hour passed surprisingly quickly, which was probably due to the fact that Matsuda remained asleep for the whole time. During this time I had located L to be in the seat closest to the back.

I switched my blue and rainbow hoodie for a long purple one, and changed my red and black boots for florescent green converse. I pulled my hood over my head to hide my unique hair.

'There, now I'm not as conspicuous. Now... Where did I put my iPod? Oh, right, in my jeans pocket.' I plugged in my ear buds and let the sound of my music wash over me.

-Time passes-

I was enjoying my favorite song, Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Greenday, when the seatbelt light started glowing I paused the song and put my iPod away.

A flight attendant's voice came from the speakers above the seats. "Please buckle your seatbelts and prepare for landing, we will be arriving at our destination momentarily." 'I wonder if she took robot voice classes...'

I clicked my buckle into place then carefully poked Matsuda's closed eye. He jerked awake looking around, trying to figure out where he was. I pointed at the seatbelt light.

Realization flowed into his expression as he secured himself to his seat. He started grinning again. "I can't wait to get back home! I'm so excited!" I rolled my eyes.

'I am looking forward to seeing somewhere outside of England though. And L's here.' The plane's landing went smoothly and I was the first one off since my backpack was my only luggage.

I walked quickly and hid behind a crowd of people where I could view the other passengers disembark. L stepped off the plane and headed towards the exit. 'Apparently he didn't have much luggage either.' He only carried one large backpack with him.

I followed from a distance, making sure to stay out of sight. 'Wait, why am I still hiding? I have to tell him...' My thought was interrupted as L stepped outside and I had to almost run so that I wouldn't lose sight of him.

I watched as he stepped into a taxi and drove away into town. 'Great, now what the hell am I supposed to do?' I stood just staring after the taxi for a minute. "Hey Azami! Do you by any chance need a ride?"

'Why in fact, yes. Yes I do need a ride.' I turned to face Matsuda, who's arms were now full carrying his bags. I nodded. "Well, I have my car parked right over there, I could drive you somewhere if you would like?"

'Wow, Matsuda, I never thought that it was possible for a person like you to actually be helpful, but you proved me wrong.' I smiled back at him and nodded again. "Great, where are you going?"

'Uuuuh...hmmm... I feel like going to the park first. Great, now I have to talk to him again.' "To the park." "The one in the middle of town?" 'Uuum sure.' Nod? "Ok, I know the one, I'll take you there!"

We walked over to his car and got in. He drove decently (thank god) and we made it safely to the park within a reasonable time. "Well, here we are, it was nice meeting you Azami, I hope we see each other again!"

I stepped out of the car and waved. 'See ya doofus.' He drove away, leaving me alone at last. I walked around the practically empty park for a while, just to clear my head. 'Well, now to find L... I suppose I should start at the police station.'

I checked a map which I had found on my walk and headed off in the direction of which I assumed was the police station. I was thoroughly and utterly lost within ten minutes. I suppose I forgot to previously mention my horrible sense of direction.

-Meanwhile, back at Wammy's-

"Hey Rodg." Rodger was stopped by Scorche in the hall. "Have you seen Azami?" He shook his head. "Not lately." She pouted. "Huh, that's strange... No one seems to have." Rodger sighed impatiently.

"Did you ask Mello Near and Matt?" "Yup." "Did you check your room?" "Yup." "Cafeteria?" "Yup." "Playroom?" "Yup." "Outside?" "Yup, I looked all over the building inside and out. No where. I asked around too and no one's seen her recently. It's like she vanished."

Rodger frowned. This could be turning into a problem. "I'll give L a quick call to see if he knows anything." Scorche nodded. Rodger pulled out his cell phone and dialed Watari's number.

Hello? "Watari? This is Rodger. I need to speak to L about a missing girl." Alright, one second please. *ring-ring* Hello, Rodger? "Yes, L, I just need to know if you have any idea where Azami is?" ...You lost her? "...I guess you could put it like that." ...No, I'm afraid I haven't seen or heard from her since I left. "Ok, well, thanks anyways, goodbye." No problem.

Rodger hung up and turned to Scorche. "No luck, we'll have to start a search party." Suddenly Mello stepped around the corner. "What was that about search parties? It sounded fun." Scorche's mouth winded upwards into a grin. "Hey Rodg, Mello just gave me an idea."

Rodger eyed them both doubtfully and sighed. "What is it?" "What if we treated this as a special activity, we could break up into groups and look for Azami, the first group to find her gets a prize."

Mello pulled chocolate bar from his pocket and took a bite. "Wow Scorche, I'm impressed, you actually came up with a good idea." Scorche sneered at him, and then turned back to Rodger. "So, what do ya think?" He frowned thoughtfully.

"Fine, I guess that can work." Scorche and Mello grinned. "Ok, you guys, go tell everyone to come to the announcement room immediately." They nodded and headed off in different directions to spread the news.

-In the announcement room-

The rules and expectations had been settled and the orphans were now lining up to check the sheet of paper to find out which group they had been placed in. Scorche had been put into group 7 with Mello and Matt. 'What! Ugh.'

She scanned through the other teams to check for competition, the only one she saw that would put up a fight was Near's team, who was made up of Near (duh), Mizu, and Kurai.

Scorche walked over to where Mello and Matt were waiting. "Aw too bad, looks like we're stuck with the pyromaniac, eh Matt?" Matt snickered in response.

Scorche glared at her other group members. "Ok, if this is gunna work you're going to have to do what I tell you to." "What! No freaking way! Why the hell should we listen to you!" Scorche placed her hands on her hips. "Because I know Azami MUCH better than you, so I would obviously have an advantage over anyone here."

Mello grumbled angrily but accepted her point while Matt just nodded. "Good, now, first let's search my room." The boys followed her and started their investigation.

-Back at Near's group-

"Now, does anyone know if Azami was planning on going anywhere?" Kurai shook her head while her expression remained thoughtful. Mizu's head fell to the side. "I don't know where she was heading, but she ran into me a while ago."

Near looked at her curiously. "Where?" She crossed her arms "It looked like she was headed to the main entrance." Near tugged an Azami doll out of his pocket. 'What the hell? Is he a creeper or something?' Both girls thought simultaneously.

"Ok, well let's start with checking out the surveillance system, if we don't find anything there we'll head over to the main entrance." The girls nodded and followed him to the surveillance room.

-Scorche's group-

"There's some paper, plastic and leather-like stuff in the trash." Two heads turned to Matt. "Wait, there's something scribbled on this piece..." All three orphans gathered around the scrap of paper, attempting to read it. There was only one word: «~Japan. »

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**Thanks for reading! If you review I'll feel more motivated to draw a picture of Azami and the other characters!**


	7. Lift Off!

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya, Kurai is property of evilanimeninja, and Mizu is property of an anonymous friend of mine (I have their permission to use these characters!). However, Azami, and the plot belong to me!**

**Zepheira: I'm very sorry if any characters seem OOC!**

**Azami: WHAT! I'M NOT EVEN IN THIS CHAPTER! I thought this story was about me! D:**

**Zepheira: Self centered much... Currently you're wandering around lost somewhere in Japan, there's not that much to write about that**

**Azami: You're so cruel! );**

**Zepheira: *sigh* Anyways, please enjoy! ^^  
**

* * *

Near pressed multiple colored buttons before the screen changed to the main entrance surveillance. Mizu's head fell to the side. "It's quite... Green out today."

Kurai laughed. "That's obviously a leaf, but why is it on the camera lens?" Near was fiddling with the Azami doll. "We'll have to go investigate." All three team members headed outside.

"Here's the camera with the leaf on it." Kurai pointed out. She pulled it off and held it up. "It was taped." All three paused thoughtfully.

"...Wait a second... Didn't L leave a while ago too?" "Yeah he went to Japan." Near pitched in. Kurai frowned. "But Rodger said he spoke to L and he said that he didn't know where she was."

Mizu smirked. "Yes, but just because L doesn't know she's there, doesn't mean she isn't with him." Near raised an eyebrow. "But why would she want to go with him?" Mizu's smirk grew.

"III think she has a crush on him." Kurai's mouth fell open. "Isn't there quite an age difference?" Mizu raised her eyebrow. "I'd say she's actually quite a bit older than she looks."

Near poked the doll. "So, I suppose we should go find L then, since she'll probably be somewhere around him." Kurai grinned. "I've always wanted to go to Japan."

Near twirled his hair. "We should tell Rodger where we're going." "What? No way! He might tell the other teams, or worse, he might call off the whole activity!" Mizu argued.

Kurai nodded in agreement. Near sighed. "Alright, but how are we getting to Japan?" Mizu smirked. "Don't worry about it, just leave it to me. Get Rodger to open the gate and meet me in half an hour."

-Scorche's team-

"Well... Judging by this I'd say she went to Japan." Matt stated the obvious. Scorche rolled her eyes. "So, when are we leaving?" Mello took a bite out of his chocolate bar while Matt pulled out his cell phone.

"There's a flight leaving today at 7:00pm." Matt closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. Scorche frowned. "How are we gunna get the plane tickets?"

Mello leaned back against the wall. "Rodger owes me some money, I'll get it." Scorche raised her eyebrows. "You mean you're gunna threaten him until he gives it to you, right?" Mello grinned cheekily.

-Mizu's POV-

I walked slowly to Rodger's office, making sure that Near would have had plenty of time to start distracting him by asking for the gate to be opened. They walked past, Near followed by Roger and I leaned against the wall, pretending to not even be the least bit interested.

As soon as they were around the corner I hurried to Rodger's pitiful study-like room and headed straight towards the bottom of the farthest bookshelf on the left. 'Rodger, you're so cliché.'

I thought as I cleared all the books on the bottom right of the shelf, careful to put them in order on the ground so I wouldn't forget which book goes where.

Once I finished, I hooked my nails into a tiny gap between the floor and the bottom of the shelf that otherwise shouldn't have been there and flipped open an otherwise-invisible fake floor.

I have to admit, the fake floor was pretty cleverly hidden, and if I hadn't been stealing things since I could walk I probably wouldn't have found it.

I pulled out the safe and opened it. (I had found the combination immediately after I arrived at the orphanage six years prior, shame on you Rodger, for leaving a combination out where any kleptomaniac with enough skill could find it.)

I pulled out about 1500 pounds* and arranged the rest so that someone would have to actually move a couple to find out that someone had actually taken anything. I quickly closed the safe and replaced the fake floor and the books.

'Crap! I'm running out of time!' I raced out of Rodger's room, down the hall and fumbled halfway up the stairs which I then pretended to be going down.

Rodger walked by saying "You should get back to your team Mizu." I walked past him, giving him a 'duh' glare and went to meet Near and Kurai at the front gate.

-Scorche's group-

Mello had successfully received the money needed for the trip, Near had just headed into Rodger's office as Mello had left. For once Mello ignored his arch rival and just headed back to his team rather proudly.

"Let's go get the tickets." Scorche raised her eyebrow. "I'm impressed, I didn't think you could actually do it." He grinned triumphantly. "How can you doubt me? I can do anything."

Scorche stared at him for a few seconds before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Even Matt laughed a bit at Mello's statement.

"Mello, you're so full of yourself." Scorche barely managed between giggles. Mello glared at her. "Shut up, let's just go buy the tickets."

-Near's group-

The trio had somehow managed to get a ride to the airport and were now heading to their gate. It was currently 6:43, 17 minutes until boarding time. "Near, put that doll away, it's creepy." Kurai finally put her thoughts into words.

Near frowned but tucked 'Azami' into his pocket. Mizu froze, causing her companions to freeze as well. "It's... THEM."

The two turned to she Mizu's hand pointing towards Scorche, Matt, and Mello. Near started walking again. "Just ignore them, and try to stay out of sight, we don't want to give them any clues." "...Alright." The two girls followed him reluctantly.

-Scorche's team-

Scorche had bought the tickets online from her laptop, and they had managed to pick them up at the airport after eventually getting a ride from a passing car. Finally they were heading to their gate.

"We have to hurry, we board in 15 minutes." Scorche said, leading the group onwards. Matt slowed briefly as he turned his head. "Hey, isn't that Near?"

Mello stopped dead in his tracks, swinging his head around to follow Matt's gaze. "...That bastard, why the hell-" "Mello, we're in a public place, shut up." Matt stopped him as a random group of children passed by.

He rolled his eyes but didn't continue his sentence. "Let's just keep going." Matt advised. Scorche nodded then began walking again, the boys following closely behind.

-Both-

The two groups eventually found their way to the gate just as the announcement to start lining up to board was made. All six of them were glaring at each other, well, minus Near, who just looked bored.

The teams stood with three oblivious people in between them, Near, Mizu and Kurai closer to the front, while Mello, Matt, and Scorche nearer to the back. Tension was growing in the air.

Then finally, the ticket checker moved the first trio onto the airplane. "Please enjoy your flight." They were later followed by the second team.

Strangely enough the teams had been seated across the aisle from each other. A strange, tense awkwardness hung in the air, until Scorche broke the silence.

"M-maybe this isn't such a good idea." She was looking out the window of which she sat next to. "We're already on the plane, there's no going back now dumbass." Mello stated, stretching out next to her.

Matt looked at her more closely. "What's your problem?" Scorche's eyes rolled over to him. "o-oh nothing." She replied, in a higher pitched than usual.

He shrugged. "Ok, whatever." A voice came through the speakers going over multiple safety instructions and the plane started rolling towards take off. Scorche cringed as the wheels left the ground and she grew more and more frantic as their altitude rose.

Finally she couldn't bare it anymore and her arms rapped around the nearest thing they could find. That thing, happened to be Mello.

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***pound: a form of money used in the United Kingdom.**

**I'm almost finished the next chapter so hopefully it will be a quick update! ^^**


	8. Knowing Weirdos

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya, Kurai is property of evilanimeninja, and Mizu is property of an anonymous friend of mine (I have their permission to use these characters!). However, Azami, and the plot belong to me!**

**Zepheira: I don't really have anything to say really...**

**Azami: I can't believe you left me out of this chapter too! D;**

**Zepheira: Shut up, I guarantee that you'll be in the next one.**

**Azami: Fine.**

**Zepheira:Sorry if anyone's OOC. :(**

**Azami: Enjoy the chapter! ;)  
**

* * *

"GAH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING GET THE FRIG OFF ME!" The other passengers frowned at the sudden swearing and shouting.

Mello was trying to forcefully remove Scorche's grip from around his chest, but he would have had an easier time trying to eat a metal bagel without chipping a tooth. (Don't ask.)

The other four orphans were barely containing their laughter as Mello tried to pry her off. Mizu, who sat just across the aisle from Matt, was the first of the four to be able to speak.

"Scorche, you're afraid of heights, aren't you?" Scorche nodded reluctantly into Mello's chest. Everyone paused to think about how horrible it must be for her to be up who knows how high in a large piece of flying metal, and sitting next to a window at that.

They all watched as Mello's attempts grew more feeble, and eventually petered out all together. He sighed and rearranged himself to get comfortable. "This is going to be one hell of a long flight."

-A few hours later, Scorche's POV-

2 hours after take off somehow I finally managed to fall into sleep, but an hour later I was woken up by an ungrateful brat kicking the back of my seat. I was about to turn around to tell the kid 'Stop kicking my seat before I rip your legs off' when I realized that I couldn't.

My face blushed crimson as I noticed Mello's warm arms curled around me. His soft breath tickling my face every time he exhaled. His expression was peaceful as he slept, curled inside my arms and I in his.

For once I forgot of my fear and just sat dazed, staring into Mello's sleeping face, I seemed captivated somehow. I opened my mouth slightly to say something, but found that I couldn't speak as his eyes slid open.

He looked around, momentarily bewildered from just waking up, but as he realized our position he stared into my eyes. His gaze turned somewhat questioning as he leaned forward.

I leaned in slightly. It felt like my heart exploded as my lips met his. My eyes fell closed and my arms pulled him closer. We were interrupted by a small cough.

-3rd person POV-

Mello swung around to find Matt staring at us with wide eyes, causing Mello to blush. Matt received a hard punch to the shoulder, and a finger was press against the end of his nose.

"You tell anyone about this and you'll be missing your face afterwards!" Mello whisper-yelled. Matt swallowed nervously. "Ok, ok, fine."

Scorche sighed contentedly causing both boys to turn to watch her newly found happy state of mind. Mello smirked triumphantly, deducting that it was him who was the cause of the sudden mood change.

Matt could barely contain his amusement. Scorche had (finally) released Mello from her iron grip and Mello stretched his arms above his head. The cracking from his back caused Mizu to wake up.

-Mizu's POV-

I was awakened by a strange cracking noise. I opened my eyes to find the source of my disturbance was coming from Mello's stretched out back. I groaned and readjusted my position.

'Hey, it looks like Scorche is doing better. I'll have to fix that.' "Hey Scorche, looks like your feeling better hey?" She nodded cautiously in reply.

"Yah, that's great that you forgot about the fact that we're flying up in a giant piece of metal, who knows how many THOUSANDS of feet high we are right now."

Scorche paled and the shaking started up again, her titanium grip back in place. '...Well that's kinda weird... Mello didn't react at all this time... Hmm.' Mello hadn't even tensed as Scorche began holding onto him again, in fact, he almost seemed to be leaning into the embrace.

I leaned towards Matt to whisper into his ear. "What the freaking hell is wrong with them?" Matt frowned. "I've been swore to secrecy." I smirked.

"Oh, so something naughty then?" Matt grinned. "Something like that." I laughed quietly and sat back in my seat. "Hey Mello, enjoying your new girlfriend?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Shut your face you idiot, she's not my girlfriend, she's just freaked out, NO THANKS TO YOU." He actually managed to keep his voice down, until the last part anyways. Sadly, this caused Kurai and Near to be pulled out of sleep.

'Wait a second... Mello, DEFENDING SOMEONE! Somebody call the police, I think the world might be about to explode.' Near yawned and Kurai shook her head. "Where's the coffee?" She groaned.

Luckily enough for her a flight attendant was just passing by. "I can get that for you, would anyone else like anything?"

Mello: "I'll have anything chocolate." Matt: "Can I have a pack of peanuts?" Kurai: "I'm good with just coffee." I yawned. "And I'll take a pack of mints if you have any."

She nodded then hurried away to fulfill our requests. Matt raised his eyebrow. "Why mints?" I smiled. "Azami bait, just in case." Understanding covered his face and he went back to playing his PSP.

-11 hours and 45 minutes later-

A flight attendant's voice filled the airplane. "We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but our flight will be arriving ten minutes later than scheduled."

Kurai scowled. "Wow, well that just wasted ten minutes of my life." Mizu looked over at her curiously. "What's up Rai?" "Don't call me that!" "Whoa, calm down there buddy, what's wrong?"

Kurai's eyes narrowed menacingly. "We're late." Kurai stared at Mizu, waiting for her to finish and started laughing when she realized that she had. "Boy, do I know some weird people."

This statement caused both groups to turn and glare at her. She smiled angelically. "What's wrong?" Mizu taunted.

-A few minutes later after disembarkment-

"Maybe we should stick together." Matt suggested as the tired (from only sleeping for a couple hours) group finally walked away from the plane.

Everyone looked at him and started laughing. "What? We would be able to cover more ground, and work more efficiently in general." "True Matt, but that would mean I would have to work with Near, and that right there is one of the stupidest ideas that has ever come out of your mouth."

Mello declared, causing Matt to remain quiet. Scorche pulled a map from her pocket. "Come on guys, there's a bus that leads right to the police station, let's go." She started walking, but instead of being followed by just Mello and Matt, Near, Mizu and Kurai trailed after her as well.

Mello was the first to notice. "Hey, get the hell away from us, you trying to cheat or something?" "We are also taking the bus, since it is the most effective way of transportation to the police station." Near argued apathetically.

Scorche sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on Mello, just ignore them." Mello grunted but followed Scorche's advice.

-Later, at the police station-

"Excuse me, I'm here to talk to..." Scorche leaned in closer, looked from left to right, then lowered her voice to a whisper. "L." The secretary seemed utterly confused.

"L? The detective?" Scorche rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb with me princess, we know he's here." She shook her head. "No, I really have no idea what you're talking about."

Scorche's face fell into her palm. "Please at least let me speak to someone in charge." The secretary nodded. "I-I suppose that's all right." She walked away leaving the six orphans to study the large, but boring room. A few minutes later in stepped the secretary, escorted by a man with glasses and a moustache.

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**Hopefully I'll update soon, please feel free to send me ideas/suggestions/comments, I'd appreciate it!**


	9. Hanging Out of an airvent

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya, Kurai is property of evilanimeninja, and Mizu is property of an anonymous friend of mine (I have their permission to use these characters!). However, Azami and the plot belong to me!**

**Zepheira: Sorry it's been awhile, but the next chapter should be up faster!**

**Azami:It better be.**

**Zepheira: Hey, at least you're in this chapter.**

**Azami: True. Finally.**

**Zepheira: Sorry if anyone's OOC, I haven"t read/watched Death Note in so long ;-;**

**Azami: Well, happy reading!  
**

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"Hello, I'm Soichiro Yagami, what can I do for you?" Mizu leaned forward, placing her hands on the counter threateningly.

"We demand to see L. We are personal... Friends of his and we need to contact him about a missing person." Soichiro frowned. "I'm afraid that is impossible."

Mello bit his chocolate bar. "Well, you'd better make it possible or I'll-" Scorche shoved him. "Shut up Mello." Kurai stepped forward.

"How about you tell him our names and if he claims not to know us we'll leave. Please Mr. Yagami, this is really important." Soichiro sighed. "Fine, I'll be back in a few minutes." And with that he left to go speak with L.

-Meanwhile-

I stared in disbelief as I found myself right back where I started: the park. Somehow I had apparently managed to wander in a large circle all through town and back again. 'Well, at least I kind of know where I am now... Maybe I should just wait here.'

I sighed and sat down on a bench next to a girl with blond hair pulled up into pigtails, wearing a short, black, white, and red dress and tall black boots.

"Hello, I'm Misa, what's your name?" 'Oh great, another talker.' "Azami." "Oh, that's a cool name, sooo, what're you doing here?" I sighed deeply. "Lost."

'WAIT, WHAT! DID I ACTUALLY JUST SAY THAT! WHY!' "You're lost? OH NO! THAT'S HORRIBLE! Where are you trying to get to?"

I shrugged. "And you don't even know where you're going! Hmm, should I take you to the police station?" 'What, no I- ...Wait a second... Police station... L could be there!'

I nodded quickly. "Alright, let's go!" She said cheerfully as she started dragging me down the sidewalk by my arm.

-Back at the police station-

"L told me to tell you that he's staying at the Luxury Inn, in room 506. But may I ask, how do you know him?"

Mizu smiled sarcastically. "Because we're all bff's! Now c'mon everyone lets go!" And they all headed to the hotel a few blocks away.

When they got there a staff stopped them on their way to the elevators. "Excuse me, what are you doing here?" "We're visiting a guest." Kurai answered instantly. "...Alright." He watched them closely as everyone packed into an elevator.

"Ow!" "Move your hand!" "My eye!" "Watch it." "You're standing on my foot." The packed elevator dinged as it came to a stop on the 5th floor.

Everyone stopped outside room 506 and Kurai knocked. The door was opened inwards by Watari. "Welcome, please come in." The 6 teenagers stepped inside and instantly started searching every corner of the room.

"Eh-hm." L cleared his throat to call the attention to him. "Everyone sit down." The six found various chairs situated around the room.

"Good, now, would someone like to tell me why you're all here?" Mizu was the first to open her mouth. "Azami's missing, back at the orphanage search parties were formed as a special activity, and due to some evidence, we all have reason to believe she came here."

L brought his thumb up to his mouth. "And what was your evidence?" Matt raised his hand. "I found a piece of paper in her trash that she had written on." "And you're here." Near added. "Why would she go to Japan if I went?"

Mizu smirked. "Because I have reason to believe that she has a crush on you. It's quite cute really, travelling all the way to a different continent just for you. Personally, I would be flattered."

For once L seemed shocked, but he quickly shook it off. "Well she's definitely not in this hotel." L declared certainly.

Suddenly there was another knock on the door. L sighed. "That'll be my Kira investigation team. Let them in Watari." Watari stepped out of the room momentarily and came back with 6 men.

L introduced them. "This is Touta Matsuda, Soichiru Yagami, Shuichi Aizawa, Kanzo Mogi, Hideki Ide, and Hirukazu Ukita." The investigators stared in disbelief at the group orphans. "L why are there kids here?"

"They are all considered geniuses, I'll let them introduce themselves." Mizu started speaking before anyone had the chance to even open their mouth. "Okay here from left to right: Matt the video game addict, Near the albino, Kurai the caffeine addict, Scorche the pyromaniac who has the hotts for Mello the chocoholic, and I, am Mizu, the kleptomaniac." Mizu announced proudly placing her hand over her heart.

"And we're currently looking for Azami the mint obsessed freak." Matsuda grinned. "Wow, what a coincidence! I just met a girl named Azami on my flight back from England." Everyone turned to stare at him.

"I sat next to her on the plane then gave her a ride to the park in the middle of town." Everyone except the investigators was now standing.

L had a lollipop in his mouth and started walking out the door, leaving the investigation team behind. "A bus is coming in 5 minutes, we'll ride it to the park and investigate."

-At the park-

Everyone was situated around in different areas of the park. Everywhere was searched. (Yes, even in the trees and garbage cans.) Absolutely no scrap of evidence was found. L called them back together.

"Since we've found nothing we'll be going back to the police station now to do a quick check, then I'll be heading to my hotel room." The group nodded and rode the bus back to the police station.

-Kurai's POV-

A blond haired girl was standing by the counter looking bored, but that changed when she looked over to see who had come inside. "Hi! I'm Misa! Nice to meet you all! What are you doing here?" 'Wow, I've just met her and she's already starting to annoy me to death.'

L spoke for all of us. "Nice to meet you too Misa, we're here because we're looking for a missing person. Why are you here?" "O-M-G! What a coincidence, I came here to bring in a girl who said she was lost! Wouldn't that be so awesome if she was who you're looking for!"

Scorche ran up to Misa and grabbed her by the shirt collar. "Where! Where is she!" Misa trembled and pointed feebly behind the counter to a door leading to a back room, out of which somebody suddenly ran from.

"W-what happened! Where did that girl go?" L sighed and stepped into the room which was now seemingly empty. "There's a 95°/° chance she'll still be in the building, let's go start searching." He commanded tiredly.

-Azami's POV-

'L might be here somewhere, maybe-Ugh!' I grimaced as I pulled the cobweb from my forehead. I was currently situated in the ventilation system above the first floor. I was trying to get to the elevator and thankfully a small 'bing' in the distance allowed me to locate it.

I crawled to the source of the sound and found an opening that was right above the elevator door. I just saw somebody quickly stepping inside. 'I wonder who that was? Oh well, who cares.'

The doors slid shut, I pulled my arm back and thrust my arm against the opening, grabbing it just before it fell out of reach, stopping it from clattering to the floor. But it was too heavy and started pulling me through the hole, head first.

Then I stopped slipping. Because I was stuck. I started panicking. 'HOW THE FREAKING HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO TELL L ABOUT WHAT HE'S DONE FOR ME WHEN I'M HANGING UPSIDE DOWN FROM AN AIRVENT IN A POLICE STATION!

...Wait, are those footsteps? NO NO NO NO NO NO, I can't let anyone see me like this!' I curled up so that my front half was pressed against the ceiling. The footsteps came closer, eventually stopping right underneath me.

I slowly turned my head sideways to see who it was. My face took on a color that was not unlike a tomato as I found myself staring into L's amused upturned face.

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**Any reviews/comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated!**


	10. A Notebook?

******DISCLAIMER: I do not own Deathnote, any of it's characters, or any of the random other things that may be referenced. Scorche is property of Asheiya, Kurai is property of evilanimeninja, and Mizu is property of an anonymous friend of mine (I have their permission to use these characters!). However, Azami and the plot belong to me!**

**Zepheira: Uggh, well chapter 10's finally out.**

**Azami: You'd better get chapter 11 up faster.**

**Zepheira: *sigh* I will, I'm almost done writing it.**

**Azami: Good. Now, let the reading begin!  
**

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"What are you doing?" I frowned, uncurling so I hung down straight, holding my arms open in defeat.

"I'm stuck." L smiled. "Want me to help?" I nodded shamefully. 'What use is an escape artist that gets stuck in a situation like this?'

My face grew warmer when L's hands wrapped around my elbows and started to pull. When I was finally free I tumbled out and hit my head on the floor, also managing to pin L underneath me.

'Ow, that wasn't such a great plan...' My thought slipped away and I fell into blackness.

-Kurai's POV-

I was running with Mizu, and Near towards the crashing noise that had happened only moments before.

When we arrived my jaw dropped, Mizu started laughing and Near remained apathetic. Mizu leaned towards me. "Rape?" Even I couldn't help smirking a bit at that.

'But seriously, what's going on here?' Azami lying on top of L on the floor, unmoving, while L struggled to get up. He looked over at us.

"She was stuck in the air vent, I helped pull her out, but she fell wrong and hit her head on the floor."

He managed to stand up holding the long lost unconscious Azami in his arms bridal style. Near turned around and started walking towards an exit. "We should take her to a hospital."

We met up with the others and headed out. Again.

-Azami's POV-

"-no permanent injuries or brain damage." Were the words I woke up to. I pretended to keep sleeping.

'I don't want to answer any questions yet.' "Well, we should get going." L said as he placed his hand on my arm. This action caused me to briefly stop breathing.

"But she's not awake yet." The doctor commented confusedly. "Azami please get up." I now realized that I felt a bit different than usual... Strange.

I pushed my eyes open. In the room stood only L and the doctor who now had a surprised look on his face. "Well, come on. You've made me miss quite a bit of investigation time already."

'What! How could I do that to L! The length of time that you get for an investigation can be the result of success or failure, by my weakness L could lose this case! I must make myself stronger.'

He gave my sudden depressed mood a questioning glance, then ignored it, waiting for me to stand up.

'Wait a minute... L took precious time from his investigation to come get me? Why would he do that?'

"Are you coming?" I stood slowly, my legs slightly wobbly from lack of use. L took my arm so that I didn't fall, which caused my face to turn rose colored.

He pulled me out of the room, out of the building in fact, and to a bench nearby where I sat down and he crouched on it beside me.

"I need to ask you some things." I nodded slowly, a headache starting to crawl behind my eyes. "First, why did you come here?" I froze.

'Now... Now's finally my chance to tell him...' ... "Well?" "...Do you remember about five years ago, you were in a park and you found a girl sitting beside a bench?"

"...That was you?" I sighed. "Yes, that was the first time I escaped. By then I had given up all hope and was considering what I meant to the world. You walked up to me and I barely noticed because of how deep in thought I was. At first I was a little scared, but I felt something trustable about you, that was the first time I'd ever felt something like that about a person. You gave me a lollipop with an 'L' on it which caused me to throw a random one in a million guess that you were THE L. I was right, though I doubted it at the time. So I followed you until you got into your car and drove away. Because of you I didn't give up my life, and actually started trying to do my best. You inspired me, you gave me a new goal: I wanted to become as admirable as the great detective L, or at least get a chance to meet him. You are the reason I am still living today... Thank you."

L stared at me, seeming absorbed in my gratefulness. "I'm happy I was able to make a difference, and especially if you're still living." I blushed deeper at that statement.

"So... Yeah, I came here to tell you that." He smiled. "I greatly appreciate your effort." I looked away. "Ok, question 2: how old are you actually? Your DNA test said you were 16, but you seem to act older and your new passport also disagrees."

I mumbled the answer towards my feet. "What?" I looked up at him. "21, though I have been living the life of a 16 year old for a long time now since my DNA test had gotten mixed up and my passport says I'm 19 because 16 is too young for a good amount of freedom, and most people don't believe me if I tell them my real age."

L brought his thumb up to his lip. "And you're not lying?" "Why would I? You can take another DNA test if you want." He breathed out.

"One more, there's something that Mizu suspected that I'm kind of curious about." I frowned. 'Who's Mizu? Probably one of the orphans who came looking for me I guess.'

"So, what did she think?" The intensity in L's gaze seemed to almost burn through me. "Mizu's team thought you came here because they guessed that it had something to do with me, and they were right, in a way, since you came to tell me something, but they thought you wanted to follow me for a different reason... Mizu believes you have a…crush on me, is she... right Azami?"

My mouth fell open and my face turned a shade of red that would put beets to shame. "W-wh-w-..."

The headache suddenly grew much stronger and my breath felt like it was being squeezed from my chest.

I quickly recognized that this was no ordinary response to a shocking piece of information when my vision blurred and I started falling. 'Thank god we're still by the hospital.'

-Return to consciousness, back in the hospital-

"Uuuh what happened?" "We don't quite know, but you were out for about 10 minutes." 'Oh great, well I hope that's over.'

"Is she alright?" L's voice drifted over. "She seems fine, but we're not really sure what happened." L stepped over to me. "How do you feel?" "Well, um, way better actually..."

"Good. So about my question..." He trailed off suggestively leaving the doctors in confusion. Thankfully I was now feeling much more level headed and was ready to answer.

"You're a detective aren't you?" He nodded. "Well, figure it out yourself then." I said cheerfully, I practically jumped from the bed and skipped outside, L trailing after me quickly.

"So, where are we going now?" I asked happily as he watched me walk around him in circles.

"I'm going back to help with the investigation, and your going to a hotel where you'll wait with the others until I can contact Rodger so he can come deal with you." I pouted.

"If you're good I might let you help out." He added more quietly. I smiled. "Ok, I'll try my best!" He eyed me curiously. "Are you sure you're alright? You don't seem yourself..."

I frowned questioningly at him. "What do you mean?" He looked away and pulled a cookie from his pocket. Taking a bite from it he said: "Nothing, never mind."

I sighed. 'I do feel kinda different, but not a bad different...huh.' He dropped me off at the hotel and the next few days passed surprisingly slowly and uneventfully.

I got so bored that I started exploring the outsides of the hotel, it was on one of these wanderings that I found something lying on a bench around the back.

'What is that? It's black and flat... A notebook? Maybe someone lost it... I wonder if there's anything written in it...'

I walked over, sat down on the bench and picked up the notebook. The cover was sleek and black with some sort of odd foreign writing on it. I slid that open to see that it was filled with many snow white pages.

But the first of these pages were the most interesting, they seemed to be filled with directions. I decided to scan through the first ten.

I) The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

II) This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.

III) If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.

IV) If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.

V) After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

VI) This note shall become the property of the human world, once it touches the ground of (arrives in) the human world.

VII) The owner of the note can recognize the image and voice of it's original owner, i.e. a god of death.

IIX) The human who uses this note can neither go to Heaven nor Hell.

IX) If the time of death is written within 40 seconds after writing the cause of death as a heart attack, the time of death can be manipulated, and the time can go into effect within 40 seconds after writing the name.

X) The human who touches the note can recognize the image and voice of it's original owner, a god of death, even if the human is not the owner of the note.

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**Reviews/comments are greatly appreciated! ;)**


	11. SAD ANNOUNCEMENT

**Hey everyone, sorry for taking so long! :(**

**I was trying to write the next chapters, but my plot is just falling apart, and I'm not happy about how I started this story, and blahblahblah, the reasons go on**

**So I'm so very sad to announce that I am quitting this fic. DX**

**I might try to write another one when I get more motivated, but I've already started my own original story.**

**I'm so very sorry to all of you who read this and was looking forward to the end! ;n;**

**PS: I would appreciate any motivation you have to give! Send me any links to AMVs, episodes, or other fanfics! And they don't have to be Death Note either, tell if you want me to write any fanfics for other things too!**


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